03 November,2009 08:34 AM IST | | Imran Gowhar
Doctor speaks out, cheating cases against property firm cross 100 mark
The number of cheating complaints against Orange Construction and Infrastructure, a firm that offered flats cheap in Bangalore, has crossed 100. After an air force pilot from Delhi, a city-based doctor is the latest to file a cheating case against the property firm.u00a0 Dr Prakash, a resident of BSK III stage, is the newest complainant.
He had approached the company after going through advertisements offering sites and homes in and around the city cheap. He had gone on to pay a deposit on a site he liked, but never saw anybody from the company again.
Where are they?
The number of complainants keeps on increasing, but the Central Crime Branch officials, who are now investigating the case, have made little progress so far. The reason is Vijay Thata and his partner Ashwaq Ahmed of Orange have both gone underground, according to the police. Neither can any of the executives of the company be traced. The Central Crime Branch has so far managed to confiscate some of the properties of the company.u00a0 "We are waiting for the arrest of the accused so that we can seize more properties," a police official said. "The properties will be attached and handed over to the court to facilitate auctioning so that the investors' money can be returned." Dr Prakash alleged that he had met Thata, managing director of Orange, at his office on MG Road. He said Thata had assured him of a corner site in his new 'European township' venture at KR Puram. Dr Prakash said he was taken to KR Puram for a site visit and he selected a corner site for Rs 14.5 lakh.
He alleged the company executives who took him for the site visit told him he could book the site by paying 20 per cent of the amount in advance while making good the rest of the amount in instalments. Dr Prakash said he paid the 20 per cent in June 2008 and was asked to come back in a few days to collect the registration papers.
In his complaint, Dr Prakash said he called up the Orange office a few days later, but there was no response; he tried contacting the mobile numbers he had, but found the phones switched off.u00a0 Dr Prakash said he even visited the Orange office on MG Road but found it locked.u00a0 He made enquiries with shopkeepers in the neighborhood and was told about others having been allegedly cheated by Orange.
